Wednesday, 14 September 2016

The Straits Times

This was an article contribution by Dr Eric Fesselmeyer, and Associate Professor Liu Haoming from the Department of Economics at NUS Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, in which they discussed whether households would benefit from an expansion of the MRT system even if they already live near a station. They shared findings from their recent research which explored a previously unmeasured benefit of public transit systems using Housing Board resale price data. Using a statistical approach called difference-in-differences, they observed that the added benefits of a new transit line to housing already near a station are non-trivial and should be included in the cost-benefit analysis of public transit systems. They opined that this has important policy implications because correctly measuring total benefits ensures that investment projects that provide net benefits to society are undertaken. They highlighted that otherwise, it is possible that such projects are rejected because their benefits are underestimated.

The ‘Ask: NUS Economists’ column is a monthly series by the NUS Department of Economics. Each month, a panel will address a topical issue

Click here to read the article.